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Posts: 1432
  
Location: Never in one place long | I am looking to complete this survey to try and get ideas for how to solve the issue or pet overpopulation... I am frustrated as with all the free and low cost spay and neuter clinics etc, still to this day, most shelters are flooded with pets, most of whom come in sick, unaltered or pregnant. WHAT can be done to stop this? With all the technology and assistance our there one would think this would not be the case but even with this, the problem still persists and every spring/summer its out of control. So I'm wondering if you don't, why don't you spay or neuter and what would help change your mind to do so? |
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  Damn Yankee
Posts: 12390
 
Location: Somewhere between raising hell and Amazing Grace | I have owned animals my entire life. Never once did I see any negative affects from spay/neuter. Either I have been lucky, or it's not as bad as many people believe. |
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 It's not my fault I'm perfect
Posts: 13739
Location: Where the long tails flow, ND | All mine are fixed but a big downfall around my area is there isn't assistance for getting them fixed, not even for farm cats, which I think is crazy. |
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 I Want a "MAN"
Posts: 3610
Location: MD | I've fixed anything I've ever owned. |
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 Serious Snap Trapper
Posts: 4275
Location: In The Snow, AZ | I put "just didn't get around to it". However, I will be having one of ours neutered here shortly. Originally, we took our littlest mutt to the vet to have his eye looked at and got a quote to have him neutered. He is a pug/chihuahua mutt dog. Weighs under 15 lbs. the quote was for almost $400. It would increase if we wanted pain meds. Lol.
Took him in to the Spay/neuter clinic and had him taken care of for under $75.
I'll be taking our Bull Mastiff in soon to get done. I just need my husbands help because I can't load him alone.
Now, in saying that, we do have a superb quality male puppy, and a 3 year old female, English mastiffs. That we are keeping unaltered incase we choose to have a litter down the road. But we are not irresponsible people and would only continue with that plan if we had people lined up to home a baby. This would not be a "for profit" breeding, nor would we have more than one litter. And don't flame us for considering this, seeing as how this is a thread on overpopulation. We would be keeping one or two pups anyways. But, again, it's just a thought.
We have a huge overpopulation problem with Rez dogs running around making babies. I would say they are probably more towards the money aspect... |
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Damn Yankee
Posts: 12390
Location: Somewhere between raising hell and Amazing Grace | SmokinGirlie - 2016-05-24 1:01 PM All mine are fixed but a big downfall around my area is there isn't assistance for getting them fixed, not even for farm cats, which I think is crazy.
We live in a very small town, however, the town was fortunate enough to be selected for a funded program to catch, spay/neuter, and release cats. I don't know whether I agree or disagree with the release part, but I absolutely agree with the spay/neuter. And that is how we ended up with our barn cat. We just called the folks in charge and asked if they would let us have one of the strays.
She was wild as hell and attacked me the first day. But she's fixed, kills EVERYTHING, and LOVES me now. Still hates every other human. It worked great for us. Free cat, and didn't have to pay to have her fixed. |
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| In my opinion a lot of people do not spay or neuter their pets due to the cost. Yes, there are spay and neuter clinics out there but for many you have to qualify under their income guidelines. It's nice to say that if you cannot afford the vet bill then don't buy the pet but this would only happen in a perfect world...
We are lucky that in our area we do have a spay neuter clinic that does them for a lower cost no matter what your income level is but not many people are aware that this program is out there. I only knew because my daughter worked for a shelter at the time and it was where they sent all of theirs to.
Edited by LAC 2016-05-24 12:09 PM
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Location: Not Where I Want to Be | SmokinGirlie - 2016-05-24 1:01 PM
All mine are fixed but a big downfall around my area is there isn't assistance for getting them fixed, not even for farm cats, which I think is crazy.
why should the public assist in taking care of someones animals/pets?
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 Expert
Posts: 1392
Location: Central Texas | Currently everything I own is spayed or neutered. I've even started catching the stray cats and taking them in to the low cost clinic and getting them fixed. I'm tired of strays having babies in my barn. |
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Serious Snap Trapper
Posts: 4275
Location: In The Snow, AZ | Also wanted to add, we have two female barn cats that were given to us by our old neighbor. She traps ferals and has them fixed. She is given vouchers by the humane society for free spay and neuters. Awesome incentive. |
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 Expert
Posts: 1395
Location: Missouri | We spay and neuter all of our dogs/cats. It's a one time expense and I really don't want to deal with litters, or males straying and running all over. |
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It's not my fault I'm perfect
Posts: 13739
Location: Where the long tails flow, ND | 1DSoon - 2016-05-24 12:07 PM SmokinGirlie - 2016-05-24 1:01 PM All mine are fixed but a big downfall around my area is there isn't assistance for getting them fixed, not even for farm cats, which I think is crazy. why should the public assist in taking care of someones animals/pets?
Never said they should, but the OP stated there are programs/assistant and in my area there isnt, therefore, we have millions of cats and dogs in shelters because the cost to fix is crazy.
Another disclaimer: All mine are fixed, including barn cats. |
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Location: Not Where I Want to Be | SmokinGirlie - 2016-05-24 1:17 PM 1DSoon - 2016-05-24 12:07 PM SmokinGirlie - 2016-05-24 1:01 PM All mine are fixed but a big downfall around my area is there isn't assistance for getting them fixed, not even for farm cats, which I think is crazy. why should the public assist in taking care of someones animals/pets?
Another disclaimer: All mine are fixed, including barn cats.
I C
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 Accident Prone
Posts: 22277
Location: 100 miles from Nowhere, AR | Everything that sets foot on my place gets fixed, whether it belongs to me or not.  |
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Expert
Posts: 1432
Location: Never in one place long | missroselee - 2016-05-24 12:06 PM
SmokinGirlie - 2016-05-24 1:01 PM All mine are fixed but a big downfall around my area is there isn't assistance for getting them fixed, not even for farm cats, which I think is crazy.
We live in a very small town, however, the town was fortunate enough to be selected for a funded program to catch, spay/neuter, and release cats. I don't know whether I agree or disagree with the release part, but I absolutely agree with the spay/neuter. And that is how we ended up with our barn cat. We just called the folks in charge and asked if they would let us have one of the strays.
She was wild as hell and attacked me the first day. But she's fixed, kills EVERYTHING, and LOVES me now. Still hates every other human. It worked great for us. Free cat, and didn't have to pay to have her fixed.
Yes!!!! we just started a feral cat program where we catch them, fix, ear chip and release them, it is working AMAZING. I think the low cost spay/neuter and fixing ferals is key plus having a shelter that does not release ANY animal without being altered... but we do all of these things about here and although it helps, still the dogs flood in and over 75% are NOT fixed :( I just don't get it!! |
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Expert
Posts: 1432
Location: Never in one place long | Three 4 Luck - 2016-05-24 12:30 PM
Everything that sets foot on my place gets fixed, whether it belongs to me or not.
haha! that is AWESOME!! Sounds like me, I pretty much let any animal that shows up stay but the day after it comes it's got an apt to get fixed. To me, that's the most efficient way to make an impact in overpopulation.... not to just get MORE people on board.... I even offer to pay for a spay or neuter to people trying to rehome their animals BEFORE they do but they often don't take me up on it! |
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Expert
Posts: 1432
Location: Never in one place long | 1DSoon - 2016-05-24 12:07 PM
SmokinGirlie - 2016-05-24 1:01 PM
All mine are fixed but a big downfall around my area is there isn't assistance for getting them fixed, not even for farm cats, which I think is crazy.
why should the public assist in taking care of someones animals/pets?
I see your point here but there are many many many times a pet is just dumped at your place... to me, it isn't fair to assume a person should pay the full cost to spay and neuter an animal that was dumped at your place and I've heard of many having up to 5-10 or more dumped at their houses... the cost can be overwhelming but is necessary to prevent MORE animals. |
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 Hugs to You
Posts: 7551
Location: In The Land of Cotton | Three 4 Luck - 2016-05-24 1:30 PM Everything that sets foot on my place gets fixed, whether it belongs to me or not.
Since our man is twirlling upside down, are they fixed by a bullet? |
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 Own It and Move On
Location: The edge of no where | Maybe if people were better educated about low cost clinics, they'd get them fixed more often? (all of mine are fixed) but it's been a bit tougher sometimes to take in a stray when faced with $300 to get one spayed. Not saying it's the public's problem - I've always figured if an animal was mine, then it was my responsibility to take care of them. I have called vet clinics tho and been astounded at costs to fix them, and not had enough sense to research low cost options. I do understand why some clinics cost more, and I'm fine with it.....but there is only so much I can spend on a stray. |
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 Half-Eaten Cookies
Posts: 2076
Location: Fort Worth / Springtown | We took 2 rescues from a fencing company 2 years ago- took to my vet and was really caught off guard with the cost - 1 female, not pregnant and 1 male and it was over $150 (can't remember exactly).
Last Summer when it flooded in TX, we rescued 2 more kittens - my husband works in Gainesville and says that cats are like roaches in that town - they run all OVER the place. I searched and searched for low cost for several months and kept missing the scheduled days - I couldn't afford our vet, again- found one that opened May 7 and was so excited about $35 and $45 until reading about all the additional costs that was going to put it well over $100 - mandatory extra $5 for the pain shot - and then ecollar, rabies, etc.
I scheduled a month in advance and after waiting in line for about 45 minutes, at the counter, I did get a surprise of a grand opening special of $20 per animal and free rabies - I just had to pay extra for the pain shots.
But stil - after the grand opening that low cost clinic isn't very low cost!! -- they do have the feral program, but they clip their ear, so we didn't want that for our house kitties, even though we could have left them in Gainesville.
Edited by txbredbr 2016-05-24 12:53 PM
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 Stinky Cat Owner
Posts: 4097
Location: Oregon | This is one topic that makes my blood boil – not getting your pets spayed and/or neutered! It breaks my heart to know that there are thousands of unwanted pets sitting in shelters either waiting to be adopted or scheduled to die because of people’s irresponsible pet ownership. If you can’t afford all the costs and care required of a dog, cat, horse, kid – don’t have them! And backyard breeders that breed so they can have extra money to _____________ (fill in the blank) – arrrggggg!! We don’t need your made up ‘designer’ dogs – they are MUTTS people!! Ok, sorry for the rant. lol
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Accident Prone
Posts: 22277
Location: 100 miles from Nowhere, AR | 3canstorun - 2016-05-24 12:39 PM Three 4 Luck - 2016-05-24 1:30 PM Everything that sets foot on my place gets fixed, whether it belongs to me or not.
Not unless they kill or try to kill something I'm fond of. I take my animals to the good vet, but the others go to the shelter vet who does them cheaper. |
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 Expert
Posts: 2097
Location: Deep South | Everything I own is spayed/neutered/gelded/etc. This is a cause I believe in, therefore we do not breed. Our dogs are all rescues, and I have bought quite a few horses out of a bad situation.
When it comes to people not spaying/neutering their cats/dogs I definitely think it's due to cost. At least in my area, vets charge a fortune for it. Would every single pet owner run their animals to the clinic if it was a free service? I doubt it. But I certainly think it's the biggest deciding factor for most people where I live.
From what I've seen with horse owners, most of the time it's ignorance. They truly have no idea that they are contributing to such a huge overpopulation problem when they breed their favorite grade mare of all time that is sway-backed, club-footed, HYPP positive and so good with kids and won them 14 ribbons last year. They have no clue that kill pens are shipping out unwanted horses by the truck load and that overbreeding is to blame.
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 Elite Veteran
Posts: 678
Location: Canada | All our pets are spayed and our two Great Dane puppies will be neutered when they turn 18 months (breeder requires we wait till at least 18 months old). Our great dane puppies are almost $1200 to neuter when it's time. That price is insane but it's a necessary part of owning a dog.
Where I live there are so many Sheppard/Rotti or Sheppard/Husky puppies for adoption and many of them are coming off the Reserves. Another thing there is so many of is the "designer" mutts where people are crossing dogs and coming up with cute breed name for the resulting puppies. Lots of them are ending up in the shelters because they have so many health issues the owners just can't afford to keep them.
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 Good Grief!
Posts: 6343
Location: Cap'n Joan Rotgut.....alberta | Everything i have is fixed..except my female aussie....and up here there is no such thing as low cost spay/neuter. ...my mini is gonna be in the 500 to 600 range when i take her....my mom just had a boxer cross dumped at her place and she definatly doesnt need it....m
Edited by mruggles 2016-05-24 1:36 PM
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Damn Yankee
Posts: 12390
Location: Somewhere between raising hell and Amazing Grace | I do think some vets charge outrageous prices to spay/neuter....... |
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 Elite Veteran
Posts: 1037
| Mine are all fixed except one, but she has a blood disorder that keeps her from having the surgery. |
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 Regular
Posts: 54
| Let me know when there are no more "rescues" of foreign animals flown here to find homes for. |
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 Expert
Posts: 3815
Location: The best kept secret in TX | I'm a shelter bum.... I love my shelter dogs. Biggest hearts in the world.
Remember: "You may not have your dog your entire life but to a dog, you're his whole life."
Plus they look super cute when they get old and get a grey muzzle  |
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Location: South Dakota | My New Years resolution this year was to get our 10 female barn cats spayed....Mission Accomplished! YAY!!!!!
Our female dogs are spayed as well, and it bugs me totally that people insist on buying a dog, sometimes for huge amounts of money, instead of going to their local humane society and giving a wonderful animal a forever home. Shelter animals rock!!!! |
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Own It and Move On
Location: The edge of no where | txbredbr - 2016-05-24 12:42 PM We took 2 rescues from a fencing company 2 years ago- took to my vet and was really caught off guard with the cost - 1 female, not pregnant and 1 male and it was over $150 (can't remember exactly).
Last Summer when it flooded in TX, we rescued 2 more kittens - my husband works in Gainesville and says that cats are like roaches in that town - they run all OVER the place. I searched and searched for low cost for several months and kept missing the scheduled days - I couldn't afford our vet, again- found one that opened May 7 and was so excited about $35 and $45 until reading about all the additional costs that was going to put it well over $100 - mandatory extra $5 for the pain shot - and then ecollar, rabies, etc.
I scheduled a month in advance and after waiting in line for about 45 minutes, at the counter, I did get a surprise of a grand opening special of $20 per animal and free rabies - I just had to pay extra for the pain shots.
But stil - after the grand opening that low cost clinic isn't very low cost!! -- they do have the feral program, but they clip their ear, so we didn't want that for our house kitties, even though we could have left them in Gainesville.
I have 3 kitties from the feral cat program in Weatherford that's thru the shelter. We LOVE them. I don't know why one of them was in there, she's like my 3rd dog. Negs thinks that her ear notch just gives her character.
I'm not sure how they do it, but you can get barn kitties for free that are already fixed and have their rabies. |
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 Elite Veteran
Posts: 929
| LAC - 2016-05-24 10:07 AM
In my opinion a lot of people do not spay or neuter their pets due to the cost. Yes, there are spay and neuter clinics out there but for many you have to qualify under their income guidelines. It's nice to say that if you cannot afford the vet bill then don't buy the pet but this would only happen in a perfect world...
We are lucky that in our area we do have a spay neuter clinic that does them for a lower cost no matter what your income level is but not many people are aware that this program is out there. I only knew because my daughter worked for a shelter at the time and it was where they sent all of theirs to.
it cost me $200 to geld my stud. It costs $485 to neuter a cattle dog. A lot of people do not see how that is a good deal. (Spare me all the vetspeak...I used to be a tech in a former life-) But when the general public prices those two things out and it is less to do surgery on a horse...many folks fail to see the value in that, regardless of how you try to put the spin on the medical estimate. |
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Expert
Posts: 1549
Location: Southwest Louisiana | I've posted on here before about my barn cats. (I didn't have any when we moved here, they were dropped off/just moved in/wild). I'm a huge fan of spay/neuter everything - horses, dogs, cats, even our goats are fixed! lol. But at one point, there were 2 dozen cats running around out here. Some I could catch, some I couldn't.
I called my vet that fixed the dogs (Great Pyrs - $150 for male and female). It's $120 per cat. They wouldnt do any kind of discount. Now, we aren't struggling to feed ourselves, but we don't have an extra $2880 laying around to fix some wild barn cats. There is only one low-cost place around here (45 minutes from me). Took 3 female cats in to get them spayed (they knew how many I had, but said they'd do them 3 at a time).
Less than one week later, all of those cats died from feline panleukopenia (cat distemper - extemely contagious). None of the other cats we had here were ever sick. These three all died and then at least one cat per day died after that. We ended up with only 8 cats left, because I got vaccines from my regular vet to give them. Only the 8 that I vaccinated lived. The others, who were healthy otherwise, all had the same exact symptoms and died.
I'm assuming they picked it up from the vet's office. Maybe that was their way of cutting down the cat population and not having to spay them for cheap? Never mentioned anything about vaccinating them or anything. But it was upsetting. I don't like cats and never had any, other than one inside cat a long time ago, who went in for yearly shots and died of old age when I was young. I honestly didn't know this virus existed or I'd have given shots a long time ago. Well, to the ones I could catch or trap.
Edited by Rocket'sMagicGirl 2016-05-24 5:10 PM
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 Expert
Posts: 1718
Location: Southeast Louisiana | I don't think we will see a huge difference in pet overpopulation until it starts to cost the` irresponsible owners. The city of New Orleans passed a law where you either have to purchase a yearly license for unaltered pets or face a fine. It really is out of control in the city and I was glad to see them being proactive about it. Too bad the rest of the state hasn't done the same. |
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 Shelter Dog Lover
Posts: 10277
| I spay everything, that said I just found a litter of 3 kittens from a wild cat that I did not know was living in my hay barn, trapped the momma-has an appointment next week and have found homes for the kittens. I tell you though, I don't like spending 100+ on wild cats but I do it. |
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 Warrior Mom
Posts: 4400
| I live in a very rural area, so people are constantly dumping animals out here. It's really sad. The crummy part is, we cannot take the dogs or cats to the shelter in town, since we live in a different county. 1 shelter in town might take one but it costs us $55 "surrender fee" .... just what I want, have to pay a surrender fee for someone else's pet that they decided to dump near my house! All the cats that show up are usually Tom cats, I had 1 female cat and she got pregnant, waiting for her to have her kittens then she's going to get fixed! She's inside and staying inside from now on. She got snake bit twice and survived it but walks with a limp. I'll have her kittens fixed too and let them have the run of the barn and property since majority of the cats have disappeared out here due to coyotes or snakes. |
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 Warmblood with Wings
Posts: 27846
Location: Florida.. | I have found in the rural areas that some people just dont care.. Theyd rather not worry about it nor spend the $$..
Also with breeders that mix 2 breeds...call it something fancy... is BS.... its MUTTS i agree..
with breeders I will keep my mouth shut due to I know alot of them .. I absolutely feel though that the low cost spay clinics have helped.. but the people need to get off their arse and take them..
most wont bother ..
to not pay to do it is irresponsible.. but the price is high in some areas.. I think a flat rate for ALL income levels is best..
let the animal go and get it done with or without shots being done at same time.. yes they need shots but for some its impossible to pay 160 for shots then on top of that 300 for spaying.. so let them do it anyway.. solutions is what we need.. we have great programs here but people have to use them.. some do ... and with ferals I agree trap and release is best..
Strays need fixed.. I know people dont want to pay to do it for them.. Havent figured that out solution to that yet. I know some say due to health concerns they wait til they are 2.. I call BS.. the shelter surrender fee had to be put in place.. but its a double edged sword.. well triple....
people want No kill.. but they want to take any or all pets there.. its impossible for shelters to handle that.. so people dump them.. instead.. we have animal control that is kill and will accept animals no fee..
with the overload of animals... its not the shelters fault..
Edited by Bibliafarm 2016-05-25 8:44 AM
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Warrior Mom
Posts: 4400
| Low cost spay or nueter out here is $65 plus a rabies shot which is $15 (which is mandatory ) there is one program that offers free spay or nueter they are mobile BUT you have to reside in a certain county to qualify. |
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Elite Veteran
Posts: 705
Location: Weatherford, TX | MS2011 - 2016-05-24 4:03 PM txbredbr - 2016-05-24 12:42 PM We took 2 rescues from a fencing company 2 years ago- took to my vet and was really caught off guard with the cost - 1 female, not pregnant and 1 male and it was over $150 (can't remember exactly).
Last Summer when it flooded in TX, we rescued 2 more kittens - my husband works in Gainesville and says that cats are like roaches in that town - they run all OVER the place. I searched and searched for low cost for several months and kept missing the scheduled days - I couldn't afford our vet, again- found one that opened May 7 and was so excited about $35 and $45 until reading about all the additional costs that was going to put it well over $100 - mandatory extra $5 for the pain shot - and then ecollar, rabies, etc.
I scheduled a month in advance and after waiting in line for about 45 minutes, at the counter, I did get a surprise of a grand opening special of $20 per animal and free rabies - I just had to pay extra for the pain shots.
But stil - after the grand opening that low cost clinic isn't very low cost!! -- they do have the feral program, but they clip their ear, so we didn't want that for our house kitties, even though we could have left them in Gainesville.
I have 3 kitties from the feral cat program in Weatherford that's thru the shelter. We LOVE them. I don't know why one of them was in there, she's like my 3rd dog. Negs thinks that her ear notch just gives her character.
I'm not sure how they do it, but you can get barn kitties for free that are already fixed and have their rabies.
Weatherford Animal Control ROCKS! They have a barn cat program. It is great. We have had them spay/neuter feral cats and then turned them into barn cats. The Weatherford Animal Control really is remarkable.  |
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BHW's Simon Cowell
Location: The Saudia Arabia of Wind Energy, Western Oklahoma | The cat distemper sounds like what I need at my house. I can't stand to get rid of them but feeding them is getting to be too much for me. I am looking into a free feral cat spay program in OKC. None of the cats we have were ours. Don't mind having a few cats around but it is out of hand at my place. |
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 Can You Hear Me Now?
Location: When you hit the middle of nowhere .. Keep driving | Right now everything is fixed at my place (except my stallion). I did use to have a stud German shepherd male that was intact. He had to be for breed shows and I took all the required precautions- he was never out of my sight anyway he was my shadow. My two now are rescue mutts and fixed.
I live on a farm and always get things dumped off here. When I was younger and dad was alive we fixed 27 cats between our house and my neighbours in a year; and we only had one house cat to start off with and she was fixed. People just dumped them. I've woken up to a box of kittens at the end of the driveway, miniature rabbits running around the front yard (really bad after Easter), and a puppy tied to the tree. I usually try and find them a good home or they stay as long as they want in the cats case. I can't keep up with them all anymore but I do feed and fix what stays.
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 Brains Behind the Operation...
Posts: 4543
Location: Arizona | My pets are all spayed or neutered, but I do agree the cost is ridiculous in some areas. The cat I have now I had neutered back in 2008 and it cost me $256! That is insane to me, like someone else said, there's a problem when it costs the same to neuter a dog or cat as it does a horse. The low cost programs are nice if they are available in your area, but in my experience finding information about those programs isn't always easy. The mobile unit that came through the town I used to live in was downright secretive. |
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Expert
Posts: 1549
Location: Southwest Louisiana | I believe dumping animals is the worst offense. Deciding you don't want an animal and then loading it up and just leaving it behind on a rural road?!! Saw this way too often growing up at my parent's house and now. Imagine what the stray population would be if no one did this...... |
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 Owner of a ratting catting machine
Posts: 2258
| Disclaimer: this turned into a bit of a rant! Sorry. I spend thousands of dollars a year on rescued animals. BHW helped me place two great young dogs last year, y'all rock! :)
Sad sick story from four years ago: I picked up two tiny puppies that had been dumped. I tried to find them homes, couldn't keep them. No takers. I called every veterinarian in the area, and NOBODY would put them down for me. There I was, offering good money, and telling them that these dogs literally were out of options. I was disappointed. All the rescues within 6 hours were full.
I nor my husband could bring ourselves to shoot them.
I understand being a bleeding heart, because I am one, but these were strays out of help. I payed a hefty donation to the local humane society so that they'd take them. I know they ended up euthanized, but at least they didn't starve to death.
I think it would be better if society as a whole came to terms with humane, painless euthanasia. Euthanasia is better than starvation and terror without love any day.
I have a blue heeler and two chihuahua mixes. They're the best dogs ever, and all three were rescues. I just can't bring myself to buy a pure bred dog from a breeder with all the lonely scared dogs out there.
My puppy I just got 6 weeks ago contracted parvo in the shelter, I had mine for a day before they showed symptoms. All her litter mates were destroyed. Mine was rushed to the vet, I have an $800.00 bundle of love. Worth every penny.
As for spaying and neutering, everyone at my house, including myself, won't be having any offspring. If you can't afford them, dont want them, don't own them or let them perpetuate the situation.
Barn cats are my special pet peeve. There's nothing worse than inbred, reeking, wormy, miserable cats full of diseases. I don't understand how people can stand letting their cats go to pieces. Population control is vital! |
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 Strong Willed Woman
Posts: 6577
Location: Prosser, WA | Our dogs are fixed and one cat. One dog just showed up at our place and we like her but didn't want puppies so we got her fixed. We fluctuate on cats from about 7 to 15 and we have kittens every year. We can never seem to keep our cats around too long so we don't get them fixed. Just too many coyotes that come to close. There have been maybe 2 that have stayed around long enough that we start talking about getting them fixed and then next thing you know we don't see that one any more. Hopefully the next place we live we will be able to keep cats around longer and get them all fixed. I'm always surprised we don't see more stray animals where we live but the coyotes very likely could be getting most of them. One night I counted 16 coyotes not 30' from one of my horse pens. |
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Strong Willed Woman
Posts: 6577
Location: Prosser, WA | ndiehl - 2016-05-25 9:19 AM
Right now everything is fixed at my place (except my stallion). I did use to have a stud German shepherd male that was intact. He had to be for breed shows and I took all the required precautions- he was never out of my sight anyway he was my shadow. My two now are rescue mutts and fixed.
I live on a farm and always get things dumped off here. When I was younger and dad was alive we fixed 27 cats between our house and my neighbours in a year; and we only had one house cat to start off with and she was fixed. People just dumped them. I've woken up to a box of kittens at the end of the driveway, miniature rabbits running around the front yard (really bad after Easter), and a puppy tied to the tree. I usually try and find them a good home or they stay as long as they want in the cats case. I can't keep up with them all anymore but I do feed and fix what stays.
That is just really sad and pathetic. |
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Strong Willed Woman
Posts: 6577
Location: Prosser, WA | ridejg - 2016-05-24 1:18 PM
My New Years resolution this year was to get our 10 female barn cats spayed....Mission Accomplished! YAY!!!!!
Our female dogs are spayed as well, and it bugs me totally that people insist on buying a dog, sometimes for huge amounts of money, instead of going to their local humane society and giving a wonderful animal a forever home. Shelter animals rock!!!!
I'm glad we are able to buy a dog if we want. I support breeders who do the testing on their dogs and spend the time learning pedigrees, dispositions and breeding quality animals. It's great that you want to rescue dogs from a shelter but it is also great that there are responsible breeders out there working towards bettering the breed of animal they raise. We have one dog that we bought and one that came to live with us. I like them both but planning on buying again when we get another one. |
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Half-Eaten Cookies
Posts: 2076
Location: Fort Worth / Springtown | MS2011 - 2016-05-24 4:03 PM txbredbr - 2016-05-24 12:42 PM We took 2 rescues from a fencing company 2 years ago- took to my vet and was really caught off guard with the cost - 1 female, not pregnant and 1 male and it was over $150 (can't remember exactly).
Last Summer when it flooded in TX, we rescued 2 more kittens - my husband works in Gainesville and says that cats are like roaches in that town - they run all OVER the place. I searched and searched for low cost for several months and kept missing the scheduled days - I couldn't afford our vet, again- found one that opened May 7 and was so excited about $35 and $45 until reading about all the additional costs that was going to put it well over $100 - mandatory extra $5 for the pain shot - and then ecollar, rabies, etc.
I scheduled a month in advance and after waiting in line for about 45 minutes, at the counter, I did get a surprise of a grand opening special of $20 per animal and free rabies - I just had to pay extra for the pain shots.
But stil - after the grand opening that low cost clinic isn't very low cost!! -- they do have the feral program, but they clip their ear, so we didn't want that for our house kitties, even though we could have left them in Gainesville.
I have 3 kitties from the feral cat program in Weatherford that's thru the shelter. We LOVE them. I don't know why one of them was in there, she's like my 3rd dog. Negs thinks that her ear notch just gives her character.
I'm not sure how they do it, but you can get barn kitties for free that are already fixed and have their rabies.
I have heard of that! Such a cool program! I saw the flier at Hay USA in W'ford.
We already had 3 cats, so we weren't looking for more, but these were in dire need, so my husband brought them home 2 at a time. In a way the notch is good, because anyone can tell their not some Tom Cat, anymore.
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| want2chase3 - 2016-05-25 8:24 AM
I live in a very rural area, so people are constantly dumping animals out here. It's really sad. The crummy part is, we cannot take the dogs or cats to the shelter in town, since we live in a different county. 1 shelter in town might take one but it costs us $55 "surrender fee" .... just what I want, have to pay a surrender fee for someone else's pet that they decided to dump near my house! All the cats that show up are usually Tom cats, I had 1 female cat and she got pregnant, waiting for her to have her kittens then she's going to get fixed! She's inside and staying inside from now on. She got snake bit twice and survived it but walks with a limp. I'll have her kittens fixed too and let them have the run of the barn and property since majority of the cats have disappeared out here due to coyotes or snakes.
Someone dumped a trash bag full of kittens off in front of our farm once. There was at least two litters in there. 2 or 3 were not alive when found but my mom took the rest of them to our local shelter and had to pay a surrender fee also, even though they were dumped. |
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Half-Eaten Cookies
Posts: 2076
Location: Fort Worth / Springtown | Gator Bug - 2016-05-25 10:11 AM MS2011 - 2016-05-24 4:03 PM txbredbr - 2016-05-24 12:42 PM We took 2 rescues from a fencing company 2 years ago- took to my vet and was really caught off guard with the cost - 1 female, not pregnant and 1 male and it was over $150 (can't remember exactly).
Last Summer when it flooded in TX, we rescued 2 more kittens - my husband works in Gainesville and says that cats are like roaches in that town - they run all OVER the place. I searched and searched for low cost for several months and kept missing the scheduled days - I couldn't afford our vet, again- found one that opened May 7 and was so excited about $35 and $45 until reading about all the additional costs that was going to put it well over $100 - mandatory extra $5 for the pain shot - and then ecollar, rabies, etc.
I scheduled a month in advance and after waiting in line for about 45 minutes, at the counter, I did get a surprise of a grand opening special of $20 per animal and free rabies - I just had to pay extra for the pain shots.
But stil - after the grand opening that low cost clinic isn't very low cost!! -- they do have the feral program, but they clip their ear, so we didn't want that for our house kitties, even though we could have left them in Gainesville.
I have 3 kitties from the feral cat program in Weatherford that's thru the shelter. We LOVE them. I don't know why one of them was in there, she's like my 3rd dog. Negs thinks that her ear notch just gives her character.
I'm not sure how they do it, but you can get barn kitties for free that are already fixed and have their rabies.
on the other hand, when I wound up looking for a place to spay/neuter those cats we rescued from the streets/fence stain vats, I wasn't thinking on that side of the coin....to bring them to a program like that and not keep them. But I will definitely keep it in mind for the other cats we rescue from the town of cat roaches (but wait, maybe that town needs their own barn cat program!
Edited by txbredbr 2016-05-25 12:35 PM
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 Georgia Peach
Posts: 8338
Location: Georgia |
Everything we have is fixed well before they have a chance to reproduce. Honestly some people just dont have the mentality that it's a problem. For example, my boyfriends parents (who I love) took in a female pit mix puppy a few years ago. It took up at their house so they decided it could stay. Fast forward several months....they put off getting her fixed, then it was too late and she ended up having like 8 puppies. They thought it would be really great to keep 2 of these puppies. A male and a female. They did get the momma dog fixed thank goodness. BUT they put off getting the puppies fixed and guess what? Now the female is pregnant. They had lots of opportunities to haul that dog to the vet but never did. So now 7 or 8 more puppies will be brought into the world. They have 3 male dogs that are not fixed and the one female. Which is a problem as well. People with male dogs dont think they are doing anything wrong but they contribute to the problem just as much. Its not hard to get your animals fixed people. If cost if an issue, then you shouldnt own a pet.
Edited by Runninbay 2016-05-25 3:04 PM
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Location: South Dakota | kakbarrelracer - 2016-05-25 12:19 PM ridejg - 2016-05-24 1:18 PM My New Years resolution this year was to get our 10 female barn cats spayed....Mission Accomplished! YAY!!!!!
Our female dogs are spayed as well, and it bugs me totally that people insist on buying a dog, sometimes for huge amounts of money, instead of going to their local humane society and giving a wonderful animal a forever home. Shelter animals rock!!!! I'm glad we are able to buy a dog if we want. I support breeders who do the testing on their dogs and spend the time learning pedigrees, dis positions and breeding quality animals. It's great that you want to rescue dogs from a shelter but it is also great that there are responsible breeders out there working towards bettering the breed of animal they raise. We have one dog that we bought and one that came to live with us. I like them both but planning on buying again when we get another one.
I can understand why people would want a certain type of dog, when our little Rat Terrier passes on, I know I would love to have another one like him. So when that sad day comes, I for sure will check out the local humane societies or look for someone who needs to rehome one first, but if need be, I would consider buying from a breeder, if it comes to that. |
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 Undercover Amish Mafia Member
Posts: 9992
Location: Kansas | HOLY COW, I only paid like $75 to have my cat spayed.
At some of the costs of these services, I can see why people don't spay/neuter their pets. Crap it costs less to geld a stud than to snip snip a cat/dog lol.
Edited by hoofs_in_motion 2016-05-25 3:54 PM
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Expert
Posts: 1432
Location: Never in one place long | Wow!! you all are giving me hope that SOOO many of you do!!! This crowd is awesome! :) thanks for all the replies!! I TRULY appreciate this!! |
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The Advice Guru
Posts: 6419
| Our males are neutered out females are not.
Cost around here, I am not going to pay 500-800 a dog to have them spayed.
I also don't like that the current research my vet was sharing with me is showing spayed females are more likely to develop cancer then non spayed females, this is completely opposite of what most vets are preaching.
The rationale behind the most current research is by removing the organs we are eliminating the hormones. With women how many are on hormone replacement therapy or have physical issues or osteoporosis as a result of having a hysterectomy. It is the same thing with animals.
I also don't see the need for the unnecessary pain we put these females through as it is major abdominal surgery.
Not many vets are doing laparoscopic tubals which is even more expensive but less invasive. |
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Shelter Dog Lover
Posts: 10277
| cheryl makofka - 2016-05-25 6:32 PM Our males are neutered out females are not. Cost around here, I am not going to pay 500-800 a dog to have them spayed. I also don't like that the current research my vet was sharing with me is showing spayed females are more likely to develop cancer then non spayed females, this is completely opposite of what most vets are preaching. The rationale behind the most current research is by removing the organs we are eliminating the hormones. With women how many are on hormone replacement therapy or have physical issues or osteoporosis as a result of having a hysterectomy. It is the same thing with animals. I also don't see the need for the unnecessary pain we put these females through as it is major abdominal surgery. Not many vets are doing laparoscopic tubals which is even more expensive but less invasive.
500-800$$- wow!! I heard that females not spayed and who had never had a litter were at more risk of developing cancer. I have a friend who is going through this with her female dog. |
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Warrior Mom
Posts: 4400
| I own a male purebred lab that's unaltered. However, I keep him in his dog pen and he's only around altered females... I don't let him run loose around out here without me watching him. He's happy and healthy. My hubby refuses to have him fixed.. I'm ok with it because I keep him put up and make sure he's not running amok spreading his seed! |
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The Advice Guru
Posts: 6419
| rodeomom3 - 2016-05-25 6:42 PM
cheryl makofka - 2016-05-25 6:32 PM Our males are neutered out females are not. Cost around here, I am not going to pay 500-800 a dog to have them spayed. I also don't like that the current research my vet was sharing with me is showing spayed females are more likely to develop cancer then non spayed females, this is completely opposite of what most vets are preaching. The rationale behind the most current research is by removing the organs we are eliminating the hormones. With women how many are on hormone replacement therapy or have physical issues or osteoporosis as a result of having a hysterectomy. It is the same thing with animals. I also don't see the need for the unnecessary pain we put these females through as it is major abdominal surgery. Not many vets are doing laparoscopic tubals which is even more expensive but less invasive.
500-800$$- wow!! I heard that females not spayed and who had never had a litter were at more risk of developing cancer. I have a friend who is going through this with her female dog.
I know the prices are insane.
As for the cancer research, it was my equine vet who showed me the research, his own dogs he refused to have spayed, but took them to a specialist to have a laparoscopic tubal.
He does everything research based and in the interest of the animal this is also why he doesn't do his own as he is out of practice. I believe he has nothing to loose by showing me the research as he gets no money from me in regards to my small animals.
The local vet won't want to tell you the current info as it affects their bottom line. They would have to purchase new equipment to perform the laproscopic surgery, or refer you to somewhere else. I see this as a conflict of interest for most small animal clinics |
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 Midget Lover
Location: Kentucky | We have a program called Operation SNIP clinic. Bring your cat in for a free spay/neuter. I always make a donation. They also spay/neuter ferals cats, clip the end of one ear to show they've been fixed, then release them back to where they were so that other cats don't just fill in the spot that they were at. |
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Warrior Mom
Posts: 4400
| Well, we woke up to kittens this morning! She had them under my daughters bed on a blanket I has put under there (thank goodness!) Anyway, does anyone know how soon I can get her fixed after she had the kittens? I do not want her going back into heat in my house! |
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 I Don't Brag
Posts: 6960
| cheryl makofka - 2016-05-25 6:32 PM
Our males are neutered out females are not.
Cost around here, I am not going to pay 500-800 a dog to have them spayed.
I also don't like that the current research my vet was sharing with me is showing spayed females are more likely to develop cancer then non spayed females, this is completely opposite of what most vets are preaching.
The rationale behind the most current research is by removing the organs we are eliminating the hormones. With women how many are on hormone replacement therapy or have physical issues or osteoporosis as a result of having a hysterectomy. It is the same thing with animals.
I also don't see the need for the unnecessary pain we put these females through as it is major abdominal surgery.
Not many vets are doing laparoscopic tubals which is even more expensive but less invasive.
This is interesting, maybe I need not feel so guilty about not getting my female Heeler fixed. We used to raise Heelers when they were scarce around here, and have had an un-neutered female around here for decades and (knock on wood) never had a litter we had not deliberately planned on. We watch them like a hawk when they are in heat. Haven't had pups in over 20 years. I did have my last one fixed and lost her when she split open and spilled her guts out on the front seat of my truck due to the state Veterinary College 's total ineptitude in closing her with one long running stitch. So long in fact that they had to splice the suture material rather than tie off and start over, and she split open like she had a zipper (over two weeks after the surgery).
So I have ben VERY reluctant to fix the female I have now. AM scared to death something will happen to her too, but have been feeling guilty that I might be raising her chances of cancer as per the vet.
Now I feel a little better. Anyone have any research to support this point?
As for getting a rescue, there is no way that I would be able to walk in and pick out one from the multitude. Am also partial to Heelers and once they bond to a person they may never bond to a second, Am I a bad person because I want to know how my dog is bred, to see it's parents intelligence, temperament and working savvy? These are the things that made MY pups in demand years ago, and things I look for but would not find at a rescue. Papers don't mean a thing to me, the parents do. IMHO the AKC tends to promote papers over quality, part of the problem.
And speaking of rescues, there is no freaking way that I am going to pay big bucks for a rescue only to have them tell me how I keep my dog ,under threat of repossession. My BIL adopted a Brittany Spaniel from a rescue. They charged $300-500 for the dog, had to have a home inspection, could not tie the dog up, could not shut it in a room when company came, the list goes on. I understand looking out for the welfare of the rescue but when you eliminate homes based on unrealistic expectations, just how much good are you doing? I have seen where the shelter won't adopt a cat out to be a barn cat! Therefor all of my barn cats have been cats that wandered in and stayed. Each one has been fixed as soon as I could get my hands on it.
I wish that people would take responsibility. Ant cat or dog that becomes family is FAMILY and will not be abandoned due to birth of a child, allergies, new boyfriend, or whatever other excuses people use to justify their actions. Yes I have an unspayed female but I make darn sure that she is not exposed while she is in heat. So I don't know how to answer the poll, as usual, lol. |
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 Expert
Posts: 1482
Location: on my horse | kakbarrelracer - 2016-05-25 11:19 AM
ridejg - 2016-05-24 1:18 PM
My New Years resolution this year was to get our 10 female barn cats spayed....Mission Accomplished! YAY!!!!!
Our female dogs are spayed as well, and it bugs me totally that people insist on buying a dog, sometimes for huge amounts of money, instead of going to their local humane society and giving a wonderful animal a forever home. Shelter animals rock!!!!
I'm glad we are able to buy a dog if we want. I support breeders who do the testing on their dogs and spend the time learning pedigrees, dis positions and breeding quality animals. It's great that you want to rescue dogs from a shelter but it is also great that there are responsible breeders out there working towards bettering the breed of animal they raise. We have one dog that we bought and one that came to live with us. I like them both but planning on buying again when we get another one.
I've never purchased a dog, but am planning to for my next dog. However, this dog will have a job to fulfill and I am seeking a very specific breed/temperament/type and want a healthy pup to raise and work.
We have always adopted or plucked pets out of bad situations and everything is spayed and neutered. The purchased pup will also be spayed/neutered when the time comes. I just don't want that burden on my shoulders of having an unaltered animal around that may or may not escape my sight and end up bred/breeding. |
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 My Heart Be Happy
Posts: 9159
Location: Arkansas | DLV - 2016-05-24 12:34 PM
1DSoon - 2016-05-24 12:07 PM
SmokinGirlie - 2016-05-24 1:01 PM
All mine are fixed but a big downfall around my area is there isn't assistance for getting them fixed, not even for farm cats, which I think is crazy.
why should the public assist in taking care of someones animals/pets?
I see your point here but there are many many many times a pet is just dumped at your place... to me, it isn't fair to assume a person should pay the full cost to spay and neuter an animal that was dumped at your place and I've heard of many having up to 5-10 or more dumped at their houses... the cost can be overwhelming but is necessary to prevent MORE animals.
I had someone drop off 5 dogs one day in my yard---along with a tinfoil pan and bag of dog food. And I got them all fixed and found a home for one but kept the rest as our "shop dogs" because the shelter was full (imagine that, huh??) and I just couldn't put them to sleep.
I have a gorgeous Siberian Husky (he is a rescue), and I have so many people want to breed their female (German Shepherd, Husky, Pit Bull, wolf---you name it) to him. I always say no and give "the talk" about how so many animals in shelters need homes, etc. But you can see their eyes glaze over and they tune out. I don't get it. |
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 Heeler Hoarder
Posts: 2067
| We were involved with rescue for awhile and fostered many dogs. Mutts are great and we still have two that are older now. I hate when people say all breeders are bad or you should always adopt. Sometimes people want to purchase a pedigreed dog for a specific purpose and that's great ! All of our dogs are spayed and neutered besides our breeding dogs. We raise French Brittanys for bird dogs and we evaluate our breeding dogs very closely both mentally, ability, health testing, conformationally etc. before they ever produce a litter. If they don't make the cut they are spayed/neutered before leaving us and are placed as a hunting companion in a appropriate home. If for some reason one of our puppies find themselves needing to be rehomed later they are to come back to us. Our barn cats are also all spayed/neutered. |
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Pet overpopulation- input wanted